Misery Loves Company

"To feel happier, hang out with people who are miserable."
This insight came to The Chemical Buddha fairly early on and he applied it to a lot of areas of his life. If he wanted to feel tall, he hung out with short people (or kids or people in wheel chairs). If you want to feel skinny, hang out with fat people. (But after awhile he noticed a lot of skinny people were hanging out with him for some reason.) Since TCB's ultimate pursuit was happiness (and enlightenment) he decided to hang out with miserable people. And that worked pretty well until hanging out with all those depressing people almost made him want to slit his wrists.
How would you describe the people you have surrounded yourself with?
Are they helping you be the person you want to be or are they trying to keep you from changing?

The 'Good' Part About Feeling 'Bad'

“The real money is to be made on the misery of others.”
The Chemical Buddha overheard this little piece of wisdom from the owner of the rehab center he had been ordered to attend by the Circuit Court of Jackson County. Good times. It did help solidify his vision of a better world … for him by turning his misery (and the lessons from it) into a spiritual movement, as well as helping other people become more miserable so they too could learn the same lessons. Has he been successful? Well, he died just as his labors were beginning to bear fruit. But we can attest to the fact that he did make several people miserable. Including himself.
What do you do that you know is not ‘good’ for you? Why do you continue to do it?
What do you learn about yourself by feeling ‘bad’? What do you learn by feeling ‘good’?